


House of memories

by spaghettiville



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Gen, everyone bullies agravaine, i mean you've seen the show you know how this ends, i mug canon in a dark alley and take the bits i like before stabbing it and fleeing the scene, i ran the numbers this fic has a 26 percent survival rate for named characters, or maybe not graphic but definitely some violence, there might be some pretty graphic violence later i haven't decided, there's a playlist to go with it because i am gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29199831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaghettiville/pseuds/spaghettiville
Summary: "You're my best friend, Nimueh, I'd never let anything bad happen to you." Uther smiled. He really thought he meant it. The moment was ruined a little by an extremely affronted Gorlois spluttering in the background."Best friend? This is what betrayal feels like. You have betrayed me. I will never recover." Vivienne rolled her eyes at him.There used to be days where the worst fight between Uther and Nimueh was after he accidentally ate her cheese sandwich and she chased him through the citadel with a ball of fire. There were days when magic ran free and the court of Camelot was a very different place. This is the story of Camelot before the purge and who everyone used to be.
Relationships: Ygraine de Bois/Uther Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Gorlois stuck his hand in the ceremonial bonfire and now he has third degree burns

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fic so it might be a bit shit but i hope you like it :D  
> [playlist is here!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6RNQmPcipY7pAc3o6K1cd5?si=kbuLuTDeSomQ1R4bvliStw/)

Uther traipsed out of the council meeting, barely clinging to his sanity. Policy reform would definitely benefit the kingdom but _fuck_ it made for a boring discussion. He’d thought it was never going to end. It was pretty much the same as usual but the high priestesses were visiting for Beltane today and almost everyone had something to say about that. Mostly safety concerns, which was always something to consider with the high priestesses but should be fine this time. Traditionally at Beltane, the nine of them would gather at the stones of Nemeton and communicate with the dead but after the incident six years ago, they’d had to stop. A dead former priestess had made it back to the land of the living and almost obliterated the five kingdoms. After that, they had decided maybe we’ll just light a ceremonial bonfire instead. It was a lot safer, save for the few occasions some mystery idiot had stuck their hands in the fire because they were cold and then run away screaming. It was Gorlois. Both times. Uther didn’t know why he did it the first time, let alone the second.

He smiled at a noble who’s name he’d already forgotten as he dashed up the stairs to wait in the king’s chambers. Uther made himself comfortable sitting on the table as the doors were flung open.

“I know I’m the king so I probably shouldn’t say this but Jesus Christ, I hate Lord Nicholas, that man just does not shut up.” The king dramatically yanked off his cape and lay down on the floor like a corpse. Uther snorted. It had always been their routine to meet up after council meetings and bitch about everybody and he was glad his brother’s coronation hadn’t changed anything.

“Oh yeah, and that thing about ‘water tax’?? What the hell was that? How would that even work? You want to tax the fish??” Uther frowned when the king didn’t respond. “Hector?” He continued to lie motionless on the ground so Uther got up to nudge him with his foot. Well, less of a nudge more of a soft kick to the ribs. Not that soft. The king groaned.

“Why must you do this to me?”

“It’s what you deserve. Said with love.”

“You know, just adding ‘said with love’ is not the same as saying with love. This is not very loving.”

Uther laughed and offered him a hand.

“Time to get up, the high priestesses are arriving soon and all that paperwork isn’t going to write itself.” Hector sat up with a deep sigh.

“Could you maybe just kill me instead? I’d never have to write another speech again, no more paperwork..”

“I’d love to, believe me, but then I would have to replace you and honestly, that sounds like a lot of work for me.” Hector looked at him, unimpressed.

“You’re the worst.” He climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. Uther tried not to laugh as Hector eyed the teetering stack of paper on his desk and sighed.

“I’m sure it’s not too bad, father seemed to manage it.” Hector wrinkled his nose.

“Yeah, but he used to just execute people for stress relief. You see how that’s not a brilliant idea, right? Also, he was insane!” Uther grimaced. Maybe not the best example he could have used.

“Well… have fun!” Uther swung the door open as Hector made his way to his desk. “God, who would want to be king?” Hector laughed and threw a shoe at Uther as he scurried out of the room.

“Oh,” Hector’s voice called down the hall, “I think Gorlois was looking for you!” Uther smiled to himself. It was impressive, in a way, how Gorlois managed to be Camelot’s first knight and still found a way out of every single council meeting. He accidentally tripped over his left foot as he made his way down to the training ground.

* * *

Uther stumbled down the stairs. Design flaw, probably. Not his fault.

“I was wondering when you’d show up” a voice teased from behind him and Uther turned around just in time to catch the helmet his friend had thrown at him. He grinned.

“Why, miss me?” Gorlois laughed and sat down on the ground to sharpen his sword.

“Oh, always. Fun council meeting?” Uther scowled at him.

“I think you know it wasn’t.”

“Anything I need to know?” This was taking the piss.

“Just come to the meetings!” Gorlois scrunched up his face like a whiny toddler

“But I don’t want to!” Uther sighed. He couldn’t really argue with that, it was hardly fun. He’d spent twenty minutes listening to a building proposal and another ten trying to work out if he’d die from jumping out the council chamber window.

“Hey, have you seen Vivienne yet today?” Uther paused for a moment to think. Earlier this morning he’d seen a couple of guards running down the stairs talking about a witch and he’d assumed that was Vivienne but he hadn’t actually seen her.

“No, I don’t think so, why?” Gorlois shrugged.

“She caught another bandit attack before it happened last night. People are talking again.” Uther rolled his eyes.

Vivienne and her father Lord Moros had moved into the castle five months ago after their home had burned down ‘under mysterious circumstances’. Vivienne was every bit the nobleman’s daughter but had a tendency to zone out and make offhanded comments nobody understood. She’d also been known to predict the future with alarming accuracy. The first week she was staying in the castle, she advised the council to stockpile food and was dismissed but wouldn’t let it go until they eventually agreed. The next month, there was a bad harvest and people survived on what they had stockpiled per Vivienne’s insistence. On the same day, she met a visitor to the court and immediately accused him of being an assassin and was proved right the next morning. Rumours had begun to fly and people would say that she was cursed, that no seer had ever been this powerful and it was sure to corrupt her, some said that it already had and she was the one who burned down her father’s house. As Vivienne’s friend, Uther knew the idea of a curse was ridiculous but he did have a growing suspicion that she had started the fire. He’d never voice it but he had known Vivienne since they were children and it didn’t seem too far-fetched.

“Are they really?” Uther almost jumped out of his skin as both men turned to see Vivienne leaning against the sword rack behind them.

“Dear God, are you trying to kill us?” Gorlois asked with a hand on his heart. Vivienne smiled slightly before plonking herself down on the grass next to them with a sigh.

“Is Nimueh here yet? I need to talk to her.” Uther stopped fiddling with the blade of grass in his hand.

“What do you need to talk to her about?” Vivienne sighed and stared at the clouds.

“Nothing important. Your undoing, really, if you think about it. But not for a while.” Uther did not like the sound of that and shot an equally concerned Gorlois a look that said _well, what the fuck does **that** mean?_ “But is she here yet?” Vivienne inquired. Gorlois snorted.

“Do you hear any crashing or screaming?” He asked and Vivienne shook her head. “Then probably not, no.” As if on cue, a shriek rang out through the citadel followed by the faint but anguished cry of “that girl is a menace!” Uther hesitated for a moment, looking at his hands like he’d made this happen.

“I think we summoned her.” Gorlois winced as the yelling continued, now accompanied by a loud crashing sound and some chickens squawking. Vivienne raised her eyebrows at Gorlois.

“You weren’t kidding.” Gorlois chuckled and clambered to his feet.

“We should probably go and make sure everyone is alright. Or maybe join in.” He stopped to decide before waving his hands dismissively “We’ll work it out when we get there.” Gorlois helped Vivienne to her feet and Uther tried to stand but lost his footing and slipped back down. The two of them watched Uther scramble about on the ground and both openly laughed in his face, which was to be expected but still not particularly constructive. Vivienne eventually relented and offered him a hand, a gesture that was somewhat a overshadowed by the fact she was still laughing at him.

The citadel was about in the state Uther had expected. Several stands had been knocked over, there was a trail of mud and a small fire was crackling away in the corner. He could hear a strangled “I’m really sorry, I’ll clear it up!” but he knew Nimueh’s version of cleaning would probably do more harm than good. The bell sounded from the tower, officially marking the arrival of the high priestesses and Uther jumped, accidentally knocking over a pile of books. Gorlois visibly lit up at the excuse to wind Uther up.

“Aww, were you sc-”

“HEY!” The three of them turned, eyes wide, to see a soot-covered woman with a red face and clenched fists making her way towards them. “ARE YOU WITH HER? THAT GIRL? YOU ARE, I BET, COME HERE, I SWEAR-” Uther gritted his teeth awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. Luckily, Gorlois Le Fay, first knight of Camelot and renowned military strategist had a plan.

“Flee the scene! She can’t catch us all!”

* * *

Uther, Gorlois and Vivienne lined up at the back of the hall as the court waited for the high priestesses. He fidgeted and tried not to laugh at Hector, who was subtly wiggling his head in a failed attempt to straighten his crown without touching it. Uther wasn’t really sure why they all had to make such a big deal every time the high priestesses visited, sure they were powerful but to his knowledge all they really did was kill people and withhold information. He was sure they probably did something else, but he wasn’t convinced it was anything good after Essetir, Nemeth and Gawant had all chosen to distance themselves from the priestesses. At least they brought Nimueh with them. Gorlois grinned and leant over, whispering so only Uther and Vivienne could hear,

“Bet you my second favourite sword that Nimueh trips over on her way in.” Uther smiled and shushed him but Vivienne stopped to think for a moment before sticking out her hand.

“I’ll take that action.” Gorlois shook her hand and Uther rolled his eyes. He really should know better than to bet against Vivienne.

His train of thought was rudely interrupted by a very dramatic flinging open of the doors. Surely they didn’t need both doors open? They could definitely have just come through one side. A blonde woman in a long blue dress strode into the hall with a rowan staff in her hand and a solemn look on her face. That was Iolanthe, the leader of the high priestesses. Uther thought it was a bit stupid having a leader of the leaders but he guessed that with nine priestesses, someone had to take charge and it made sense that it was Iolanthe. He wouldn’t describe her as terrifying but when he was six, he saw her melt a man into a puddle for protesting the use of magic and he hid from her every time the priestesses visited for the next ten years. He was maybe a little scared of her.

Iolanthe was followed by two women wearing red, Morrigan and Aedhara. Uther didn’t really know what their deal was but Morrigan usually carried around a jar of glowing beetles to crush for spells. He didn’t know how it worked but honestly, he didn’t want to. Aedhara was relatively quiet and seemed the most human of them all.

Behind them, the rest of the priestesses trailed. There was Tethys, the oldest priestess, wearing a blue robe and a swirling bracelet made of water. _She wasn’t even that old,_ Uther thought, _late fifties at most. Guess that’s what happens when you keep sacrificing each other_. Next to Tethys were Galea and Phoebe. Galea called herself the emissary of the nature spirits and had daisies woven into her hair and violets stuck along her left cheekbone. Phoebe was the guardian of the moon and one of the most vindictive and manipulative people Uther had ever met, and he grew up in the royal court. She wore a silver circlet and a venomous smile. Behind them, Evrid, protector of the hearth and creator of new evils. Uther had given her the second title after she’d convinced Gorlois to start using hair gel when they were twelve. It was a dark time. At the back of the procession stood Cassandra and Damaris, the seer and the tether respectively. Damaris was the only priestess to carry a sword, a detail not lost on Uther. Lost a little, in that he didn’t understand why, but he did notice and that had to count for something.

The priestesses would have maintained a regal elegance as they walked down the hall, were it not for the bedraggled young woman who trailed behind them. She had messy dark hair and chaos in her eyes and she grinned like a madman when she saw Uther in the crowd. Uther wished he could say he was surprised to see her with blood on her face and what appeared to be a handful of dirt, but he just gave a long-suffering sigh.

Much to Gorlois’ dismay, they all made it up the hall and Nimueh didn’t stumble. Vivienne smirked.

“I’ll be taking that second favourite sword, please and thank you,” she whispered to him. Iolanthe bowed her head as she stood in front of the king.

“My lord.” Hector smiled and nodded respectfully. Iolanthe gripped her staff as she turned to address the assembled court. “People of Camelot, we have arrived.” _Yeah, no shit,_ Uther thought and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Beltane is a time to celebrate the spring, a time of joy, vitality, fertility.” Vivienne shifted uncomfortably at that last one. “As we have done every year, the high priestesses of Albion will begin the bonfire later this evening to celebrate Beltane and ward off malevolent spirits. This year, I am proud to announce that our prodigy, Nimueh will be the one to light the fire.” Uther raised his eyebrows slightly at that. Not only because of the ‘as we have done every year’, which was a blatant lie, but also because the priestesses always made a big deal about who would light the fire. It usually took two or three of them using their magic to start it. If the true strength of Nimueh’s power was finally being acknowledged, this probably meant she was close to becoming a priestess. Iolanthe raised her arms “That will be all. You may leave.” Uther looked around, a little confused but the high priestesses were already marching out of the hall and people began to shuffle out behind them. He followed Gorlois and Vivienne out of the room, smiling as Vivienne teased Gorlois about his poor gambling skills. They’d made it away from the crowd and were skipping along the battlements when Uther felt a sword digging into his back. Well, Gorlois was skipping. Uther and Vivienne were walking around him awkwardly and trying to look like they didn't know him. He coughed pointedly, trying to signal the threat behind him. Vivienne stopped walking and Gorlois turned to face them, both able to see his attacker and both looking surprisingly apathetic.

“Oh,” Vivienne noted “you appear to be in mortal peril. Anyway,” Uther spluttered indignantly as a grin spread across Gorlois’ face and he heard warm laughter from behind him and felt the sword drop from his back. Nimueh appeared in front of him, sword flying over the side of the battlements as she hugged him. Was that safe? Unlikely. A guard in the courtyard yelped and rubbed his head where the sword had clonked him. Nimueh pulled away from Uther and squinted at him.

“What have you done to your hair? Something’s different but I can’t put my finger on it.” Uther prayed Gorlois would say nothing but an amused snort let him know that he’d been betrayed.

“His royal highness tried to cut himself a fringe but fucked up so astronomically that he ran to Gaius to try and grow his hair back. The potion worked a little too well so we had to cut his hair down to the way it was before. As you can see, we didn’t get it exactly right.” Nimueh threw her head back in laughter while Uther went red and glared at a gleefully indifferent Gorlois. Uther grumbled to himself as they kept walking and Gorlois started skipping again.

"Oh, we're skipping?" Nimueh asked, immediately joining in

“Yeah, just feeling whimsical today," Uther silently prayed for his sanity "So, you’re lighting the Beltane bonfire?” Gorlois asked and Nimueh grimaced.

“Don’t remind me, Morrigan decided I had to do it last week and they’ve all been on my case since. Apparently it’s a ‘true test of whether I’m ready to join them’,” she imitated, “So that’s probably not great.” Not great was understating it a little. The high priestesses were very secretive about their initiation rituals, most likely, Uther thought, because one of them always seemed to vanish after. Were they being killed? Who’s to say? But yes, they definitely were.

“High priestess Nimueh. Gods help us all.” Uther jokes, with some sincerity in his voice. Nimueh shoved him into the wall.

“Whatever you say, haircut.”

"That's Prince haircut to you."

* * *

The Beltane bonfire was something to behold. People from noble families and the lower town alike gathered around the inferno in the citadel, dancing and chattering away under the night sky. Uther thought the lighting of the fire had gone relatively smoothly but had been immediately proved wrong by whispering among the high priestesses and the people of Camelot. It normally took the combined power of three priestesses but Nimueh had just smiled at the pit, held up her hand and the flames roared to life. It was undeniable that she was one of the most powerful sorcerers Albion had seen in a long time, but Uther found it a little difficult to accept that it was the same person as his friend Nimueh, who was now tossing raisins up into the air and trying to catch them in her mouth. She was failing miserably, for that matter. She sat next to a quiet but content Vivienne and a weary and exasperated Tethys. Every time Nimueh caught a raisin, Vivienne would applaud and Tethys’ sigh would grow a little deeper. Gorlois was off talking to some of the knights that had come, Sir Lionel and Sir Felix, and seemed to be either showing them a new quarterstaff or trying to kill them.

Uther smiled to himself at the sight of it all as he felt a hand clap on his shoulder.

“Having fun?” Hector asked with a grin. The crown suited him, Uther thought. He was a kind man, a fair ruler. The opposite of his father, from the way he acted down to his messy black hair sticking out in tufts underneath his crown.

“Yeah, I guess,” Uther kicked at the dirt under his feet, “You?” Hector leant against a pillar and folded his arms as he mumbled an agreement.

“I’ve been thinking,” he began “Father’s vendetta.” Uther pulled a face. His father had almost destroyed Camelot with his needless feud. It had gone on for years. Every week, he would send more men and every week only one would return. The king had decided that this man, and elderly sorcerer named Gorit, was an enemy of the kingdom because he was a personal enemy. In all fairness, Gorit gave as good as he got and had launched just as many attacks on the king, but it was all so violent and meaningless. Uther had never known what actually started the conflict, just that they were determined to kill each other. The sorcerer had been more subdued since Hector became king but had recently attacked a Camelot patrol. Uther took a deep breath.

“What about it?”

“I’m going to make peace with him.” Uther’s eyes widened. “Or at least, I’m going to try. Enough blood has been spilled, no more. Father is not the king anymore and I have a duty to Camelot.” Hector said firmly, like he was still trying to convince himself. “What do you think?” Uther blinked rapidly.

“I, uh… great. That’s great. Are you sure it’s safe? Gorit has killed more than any I can name.” Hector frowned, clearly aware of this but trying not to think about it.

“Well… you know how it is,” Hector straightened himself up and puffed out his chest in a perfect imitation of his father, “No glory without danger, boy!” Uther laughed and shook his head. “I’ve got to go and finish my proposal to the council for tomorrow,” he scanned the courtyard “what do you reckon is the quickest way back into the castle from here that wouldn’t involve a conversation with Cassandra? She keeps asking me for my blood.” Uther pretended he hadn’t been thinking the same thing and gasped, scandalised.

“My lord? Are you suggesting you would avoid the lovely lady Cassandra?” Hector immediately realised his mistake as a mischievous smirk spread across Uther’s face. “Lady Cassandra! The king would like to speak with you!” He yelled across the courtyard to the high priestess. “It’s- OW!” Hector stamped on Uther’s foot as hard as he could and smiled sweetly as Cassandra made her way over.

“I could banish you for this,” the king hissed through his teeth. Uther plastered on the most shit-eating grin he could muster.

“But you wooon’t!” Uther sang as he slipped away, leaving a very awkward-looking Hector trapped with the high priestess.

* * *

Vivienne had dragged Nimueh into an empty corridor to talk away from the fire and the crowd. The celebrations were fine and all but there were people everywhere and she didn’t want to be overheard. As she looked at Nimueh, with chocolate melted around her mouth and leaves in her hair, she wondered if this was the right call. No, it was, Nimueh was her friend. Somebody she could trust.

“So, what are we doing here, exactly?” Nimueh asked, licking the chocolate off her face. Her eyes lit up. “Did you finally agree to help me steal all of Uther’s stuff and hide it around the castle? I know it’s technically treason but I think it would be really funny-”

“No, there’s something else.” Vivienne paused. “But that does sound fun, we should do that later.” Nimueh beamed.

“What’s the something else?” Vivienne took a deep breath and fiddled with the sleeves of her dress.

“There’s, umm,” she looked annoyed with herself for not finding the words. “It’s… ugh!” she sighed in frustration. Nimueh stood straight, serious now.

“Is everything ok? Are you ok?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know?” Vivienne ran her hands through her hair, exasperated. “I’m, uh,” she waved her hands frantically in front of her stomach and Nimueh stared at her blankly. Vivienne sighed. “Baby.”

“Baby.” Nimueh repeated, still processing. Her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh, no. Baby. That’s not good.”

“No shit, Sherlock!” Nimueh looked confused.

“What’s Sherlock?” Vivienne threw her hands in the air.

“Later, much later, not important. What do I do?”

“Fuck if I know! Sorry, that’s not helpful. You could.. umm..” Vivienne frantically watched the cogs turn in Nimueh’s head. “Wear a lot of really big coats and hope nobody notices?” She was doomed.

“Sorry about this, sorry for telling you, I know it’s a whole _thing_ , I don’t mean to make this your problem, I’m just a bit, uh,” She was forgetting how to breathe. Probably not good. Maybe fine? No, breathing was pretty important. Nimueh could see she was starting to panic and held her hands together.

“Hey, look at me. You’re not making anything a problem, you’re my friend and I love you. We’ll work this out. Have you told anybody else yet?” Vivienne shook her head, breathing slowly in and out.

“I’m not planning to until I absolutely have to. Give myself as long as I can to come up with some sort of plan.” She was still unclear on what, exactly, this plan would entail but hey, that was a problem for future Vivienne. Wouldn’t want to be her. Nimueh hesitated for a moment.

“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.” Vivienne looked at her pointedly.

“I’m not.” Nimueh nodded, clearly not going to say any more on that. “Thank you for not thinking any less of me for this.” Nimueh snorted.

“Vivienne, you’ve watched me sneeze so hard I started a fire, tried to put out that fire by throwing wine on it and then singed off my eyebrows. I’m hardly in any position to think less of you. So you’re pregnant? Big deal.”

“You’re what?” A voice boomed down the hall. Vivienne froze and Nimueh looked to see who it was.

“Ah, piss.” Piss indeed. Vivienne didn’t know what to do with herself as her father marched down the corridor towards them. This wasn’t going to be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the first chapter!! it's only really a setup chapter but i've got the whole story planned out in my head and i'll try and update as frequently and regularly as i can. Thank you so much for reading, feel free to leave a comment if you want :D


	2. Local prophet says future is shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gift of prophecy is a real bitch, Sir Felix has pretty hair and Uther is offended by some ugly hats. i'm not great at summaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update!! i was making a sandwich and then it was March i don't really know what happened. BUT this chapter is a fair bit longer than the last one to make up for it :D

Vivienne was doing her best not to go insane but _holy fuck_ , the world did not make it easy. It had been ten days since Beltane and her father hadn’t shut up since. Every moment they were alone, he would yell at her that this was a disgrace, that she was ruining the family name, that she had to get married immediately, and other helpful words of comfort and support. He’d started looking for noblemen to marry her off to before the pregnancy became obvious, which she did not appreciate. She’d worked out that she was almost three months along, giving her a lot less time than she’d thought to work out what she was going to do. Being born into nobility, Vivienne had always known in the back of her mind that she’d end up having to marry a stranger but now that it was becoming reality, it wasn’t so easy to accept.

With everything going on with her father, Vivienne’s only saving grace had been Nimueh, who, in an attempt to cheer her up, seemed to have declared war on Uther. The high priestesses had returned to the Isle of the blessed the morning after Beltane, leaving Nimueh in Camelot for a few weeks like they usually did before one came to bring her back. Vivienne had a sneaking suspicion it would be Cassandra, who had left in a bit of a huff over the fact she still couldn’t get her hands on a vial of Hector’s blood.

Nimueh, with Vivienne in tow, had hidden behind every door and around every corner, waiting to jump out at Uther or throw water over him. She did feel a bit sorry for him but it was pretty entertaining watching him grow paranoid and refuse to walk into a room for fear that Nimueh and Vivienne were lurking in there somewhere. She hadn’t told Uther or Gorlois about her situation yet and didn’t plan to, mostly because she was enjoying the distress it caused Nimueh trying to keep it from them. She’d almost slipped up a couple of times but had played it off by magically starting fires to distract them.

Vivienne saw her father walking down the corridor and hastily took off in the other direction. Her combination of denial and evasion _was_ a mature and constructive tactic, thank you very much. Where could she hide? There was the training ground but that was the first place he’d look. Gaius’s chambers? Gaius’s chambers, that was a solid plan. She tried to shove the door open but it was locked. Luckily, you don’t go almost a decade being friends with Nimueh without learning how to break and enter. She wiggled the lock until it gave and ran in, closing the door behind her before hiding behind a workbench.

“Lady Vivienne? Can I help you?” Shit.

“Gaius!” She poked her head up from behind the bench. She had no idea where she was going with this. “You’re here!” The physician looked at her and raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“These _are_ my chambers. Where else would I be?”

“In the.. the outside?” Why couldn’t she have just gone to the training ground? Luckily, Gaius didn’t seem to care too much and was just glad for the company. He’d been the court physician for six years now and considering all the weird shit he’d seen, very little was able to throw him off. Nobleman’s daughter breaking into his chambers and hiding about three feet from him? This was nothing. He waved his hands in the air dismissively as he moved over to sit down at his workbench. The one Vivienne was still awkwardly crouching behind.

“Would you like to come out from under there?” Vivienne shifted uncomfortably.

“No, I think I’m good here, thank you. I like the.. uh, the floor pattern.”

“The pattern is dirt and broken glass, my lady.” Yeah, maybe best not to sit in a pile of broken glass. She took a seat opposite Gaius on the workbench and watched him pour a vial into a mixing flask. She had no idea what was in the vial but it stank worse than the cheese Gorlois had eaten last year on a dare. He’d been sick for three days after but still maintained it was a good idea because _‘You have to do it if you’re dared, Vivienne, that’s the rule.’_ Can’t argue with that logic.

“What does that do?” Vivienne asked. She may as well learn something while she was here. Gaius held the flask up to his face and shook it vigorously.

“It’s a combination of tincture of belladonna and water hemlock. Hopefully, it will take a man’s head off.” Vivienne hesitated.

“Any specific man?” Gaius looked up, realising what he’d just said.

“Oh, no, no, I’m just experimenting with what’s left in my cupboard, using up herbs and potions that are going off. These two are both poisons so I thought I’d see if I could make a mega-poison. Just in case of emergencies.” Vivienne frowned. Would an out-of-date poison cause more damage or less? It didn’t matter. Suddenly, she felt a sharp stabbing pain at the back of her head. _Calendula. Calendula. He’s going to need it, Gaius you need more calendula. Calendula._ Vivienne tried to ignore the voice but to no avail. It got louder and louder until she couldn’t take it.

“Calendula!” Gaius looked confused.

“What?”

“Calendula, you need more calendula, you’re going to need it soon.” She scratched at the skin on her hands and looked at the ground. Gaius blinked and looked over at his shelf to see he was running low on it.

“Oh! Thank you, I suppose I will need to restock.” _No, that wasn’t good enough, it had to be now._

“No, soon, you need to do it soon.” Gaius didn’t really know how to react.

“I’ll make sure I find some this afternoon.” The voice quieted in her head and she took a deep breath.

“Thank you. I’m sorry. I don’t even know what calendula is.”

“It’s an anti-inflammatory herb I use to help stab wounds heal faster. May I ask what you meant when you said I’d need it soon?” Vivienne shook her head.

“I don’t know, I never know until it’s too late.” This had happened before. She’d see glimpses of scenery, have words or phrases screamed at her, hear a voice she almost recognised saying something she couldn’t quite figure out.

“It must be your gift.” Gaius put the potion bottle down. It didn’t feel like much of a gift.

“Yeah,” she mumbled “must be.” She leant back as the door swung open and Gorlois stumbled through.

“Gaius!” He smiled broadly “I didn’t know you’d be here!” Gaius narrowed his eyes and looked to Vivienne with suspicion and she shrugged in response.

“These are my chambers. I’m not sure where you all seem to think I go.” Gorlois took off his sword and noticed Vivienne.

“Oh, hey, Vivienne! What are you doing here?”

“Hiding.”

“Me too!” Gaius sighed and raised his eyebrows.

“Both of you? And you both came to hide here?”

“It’s because we trust you so much.” Gorlois grinned and Gaius rolled his eyes at him.

“What are you avoiding this time?” Vivienne asked, already knowing the answer.

“Council meeting. They’ve been brutal this week.”

“How would you know?”

“Hey, I might have gone to them, you don’t know!” Vivienne stared at him, unimpressed. “Fine, Uther told me.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

* * *

Uther thought his head was going to explode. Hector had announced eight days ago that he planned to make peace with his father’s nemesis, Gorit, and the council had promptly lost their minds. He didn’t think there was anything worse than death but now, having watched his brother try to explain to a group of rich noblemen that sometimes peace and safety were more important than their pride, he wasn’t so sure. Hector’s patience was incredible, Uther would have gone insane in his position.

It was amazing how many of them Hector had talked into the idea, considering how stubborn he knew the council to be. Sir Gideon had once argued that fire wasn’t always hot and almost killed himself swallowing a burning candle just to prove he was right. That was the level they were dealing with.

Somehow, against all odds, Hector had done it. He’d always been well liked, both among nobility and the people of Camelot and he’d proven himself to be a wise and reliable leader, so Uther guessed that people were inclined to trust him. Personally, he found it difficult to reconcile his brother Hector, who trod on a snail and cried for two hours with his brother Hector, the great and benevolent king of Camelot, but he knew this would be good for the kingdom. Hector had been on the throne just over a year now and it was a new era for Camelot. The truce would do them good. It would. _It would._ Maybe it was just his father’s voice in the back of his mind but something about it worried him. If it was his father’s voice, it could keep its damn mouth shut. That man had said quite enough.

His anxieties were hardly alleviated by the fact Hector would be riding out to the sorcerer’s cave in the White Mountains alone. He had tried to convince his brother to take a patrol with him but Hector argued that he didn’t want Gorit to feel like it was an attack and that bringing armed guards would send the wrong message. Uther knew he was right but didn’t feel good about it.

He arrived in front of the king’s chambers and paused. He squinted through the gap made by the hinges of the door, trying to see if Nimueh and Vivienne were lying in wait. Uther didn’t know why but the two of them had been everywhere he turned this week, ready to scare him out of his mind. Nimueh, he understood, she was a menace, but Vivienne’s role as her accomplice was an unforeseen act of treachery. He wondered if it had something to do with Vivienne’s father and the scowl he had worn all week.

Uther stomped down the corridor away from the doors, making as much noise as he could and silently crept back, hoping that if they were there, they’d think he was gone. Didn’t work. He was greeted with a loud “BOO!” and twenty seconds in cardiac arrest as he walked into the room. Nimueh laughed at him as he glared at her and held his hand over his heart. He heard a second laugh and looked up to see Hector standing in the corner, already back from the council meeting. What the fuck kind of betrayal was this?

“You let her in here?” Hector shrugged and bit into an apple.

“It was for a good cause.” He mumbled with a mouth full of apple. Uther threw his hands in the air in despair.

“What cause?” He didn’t know where to direct his anguish and Nimueh grinned.

“Fun. Anyway, I must be going, I saw a tray of jam tarts by the kitchens that isn’t going to steal itself. But remember,” She got unnecessarily close to his face and put on a deep voice “ _I’m everywhere.”_ She danced out of the room and Hector chuckled at the look of baffled dismay on Uther’s face.

“I can’t live like this.” Hector rolled his eyes as he pushed some paper off his desk.

“I think you’ll be fine. It’s not like you aren’t just as bad as her.”

“How dare you?” Uther spluttered “I am nowhere near that bad!” Hector turned to Uther and raised his eyebrows.

“Remember when you were seventeen and she had amnesia and you told her she was the king of Mercia?” Uther snickered.

“Alright, point taken but that _was_ funny.” He folded his arms and leant back against the wall. He opened his mouth to complain about Sir Gideon’s bullshit earlier during the council meeting but stopped when he noticed what Hector was doing. “Why are you packing?” Hector shoved a pair of socks into the bag he’d been filling and took a deep breath.

“I leave for the White Mountains tonight.” Uther blinked. This had happened a lot faster than he’d anticipated.

“Oh,” he didn’t really know what to say “Umm.. that’s soon. That’s really… wow.”

“I know it’s happening faster than I’d originally planned but I think it’s a good idea and the military council has signed off on it. No point delaying it.” Bloody military council. If Uther ever had his way, they’d be dissolved immediately. They were a group of self-important, washed-up nobles that used to be soldiers and they were extremely annoying to deal with.

“Well, that’s… that’s great. What time do you leave?”

“At the second bell. I’m aiming to be clear of the Darkling Woods by sundown, then I’ll make camp in the Valley of the Fallen Kings.” Oh, brilliant, nothing bad ever happened there. When they were children, Gorlois had told Uther the Valley was cursed to scare him. He hadn’t believed him, but the older he got, the truer it seemed to be. Hector smiled.

“Don’t look so worried. I’ll be ok.” Uther sighed.

“I know you will, I just.. he’s killed a lot of people. Like, _a lot_. Hundreds, maybe thousands.”

“Which is exactly why I need to go. Nobody else needs to die. Father was a careless man and I am going to be better.” Uther stared at the floor. He was already better. He always had been.

* * *

“Vivienne!” Gaius had gone to collect more herbs about an hour ago and she was making her way to the training ground when she looked up to see Nimueh cannonballing down the hall towards her. She just about managed to stop in front of Vivienne without knocking her over. “Your father.. I overheard.. Hold on.” Nimueh held up a finger and bent over, trying to catch her breath. Vivienne frowned. Her father had been on the other side of the castle only minutes ago, she knew that because she’d been avoiding him, how could Nimueh have got here so fast? Nimueh gave up and sat down on the floor, wheezing, which Vivienne supposed answered her question.

“Need a hand?” Nimueh had her hands on her stomach and looked up at Vivienne with one eye open.

“Nah, I think I’m good here.” Vivienne shrugged and kicked off her shoes, joining Nimueh on the ground. In the middle of the corridor. It’s fine, anyone who saw them would hopefully just sidestep them. Nimueh flopped on to her back like a frazzled starfish and caught her breath. “Your father. You know how he’s been trying to find some asshole for you to marry? Well, yesterday I overheard him talking to Duke Brannen and I just saw them again today about two minutes ago.” Vivienne scrunched her nose in disgust. Duke Brannen of Denaria was a stale ham of a man. He was arrogant and overbearing at best, cruel and violent at worst. A pit of dread opened up in her stomach as she guessed what Nimueh was going to say next. “They were talking about you. Marrying him. Brannen. I didn’t realise that’s what it was yesterday or I’d have told you straight away but it seemed pretty final, like they’d already agreed on it. Brannen was talking about getting married this week.” Vivienne felt sick. “Obviously, we’re not letting that happen, so what’s the plan, stan? Want me to shove him down the stairs?” She loved Nimueh so much. A passing guard paled slightly but kept walking. Nimueh sat up and pulled a face. “Most of the ideas I have so far are sort of along the same theme, so this may not be the best place to brainstorm, maybe we should- fuck.”

“I’m not sure that would help.”

“No, look,” Nimueh pointed behind Vivienne at her father and Duke Brannen rounding the corner.

“Fuck!”

“Yes, exactly.” Vivienne scrambled to her feet and helped Nimueh up, hoping they could hide before they were spotted. No such luck.

“Vivienne!” Her father called. She stiffened as the two men strode up to them. “I have good news!” He noticed Nimueh and frowned at her. “I’d rather tell you alone.” Vivienne dug her fingernails into her palm, an action not missed by Nimueh, who put her hands on her hips and smiled broadly at Vivienne’s father. He waited a moment for Nimueh to take the hint but she didn’t move. He sighed and continued. “As you know, I think it’s high time you found a husband.” _Really? I’d never have known, father, it’s not like you’ve been shrieking it at me all week._ “The Duke and I were discussing trade routes and other such matters when he mentioned that he did not have a wife. I, of course, took the opportunity to suggest you, my daughter, and the Duke has said he would be happy to marry you!” Her father beamed smugly. “We’ve agreed that the two of you will be married in two days’ time!” Brannen stood next to her father, smiling in a way that made Vivienne want to punch him in the throat.

“Why two days?” Nimueh asked, ignoring the glare directed at her by Vivienne’s father.

“Sorry, why are you still here?”

“Because I relish in the fact that my presence bothers you. Why two days?” Vivienne knew why. It was so she didn’t have time to run. Duke Brannen answered, his voice as irritating as the rest of him.

“I return home to the Vale of Denaria in two days. It would only be right to bring my bride with me.” Vivienne did her best to mask a grimace. Nimueh wasn’t so successful and looked ready to vomit on the man. Vivienne’s father was evidently pleased with himself, thinking he’d fixed everything. He clapped Duke Brannen on the back.

“Just think, Vivienne, the Duchess of Denaria! The two of you will get along so well!” Like he cared about that. “I’m so glad you’ve agreed to marry my daughter and I’m sure she’s thrilled too.” Vivienne nodded politely “Why don’t we eat dinner together this evening to discuss this further?”

“It would be my pleasure.” Brannen responded with a sinister smirk that the other man didn’t seem to notice. Vivienne’s father walked on past her and Nimueh, clearly done talking to them, and Brannen followed him.

“So, Duke, you were telling me about..” Their voices trailed off into background noise as Vivienne turned to look at Nimueh.

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Because you’re pregnant?”

“Nope.”

* * *

Uther stood at the bottom of the steps outside the castle watching Hector fiddle with his horse’s saddle. He did think about helping but it was funnier watching him struggle. The sky was a warm gold, the way it looked just before the sun would set, and the light glinted off Hector’s armour. He almost looked like he was glowing. Uther stifled a laugh as Hector failed to tie his bag to the saddle for the third time.

“Alright, you do it then.” Hector huffed. Uther smirked, knowing it would wind him up.

“With pleasure.” He walked over and tied the knot perfectly, tugging the bag for good measure to show it was secure then bowed to Hector like he was expecting some kind of applause. “You’re welcome.”

“I’d have got it eventually.” Uther grinned and put on the most patronising voice he could muster.

“I’m sure you would.” He yelped and skipped backwards to avoid Hector, who leant over to slap him. “This is assault! I’m being assaulted. And all for helping an elderly fool with his bags.”

“Elderly? I’m three years older than you!”

“So old.. bones creaking, skin wrinkling- NOo don’t hit me again!” He shrieked, just managing to dodge the second slap. Hector chuckled and climbed up onto his horse. He took a deep breath and sat back, looking off into the woods. With the sun behind him, Uther thought Hector truly did look like a king. He stepped back and paused. “So you’re really doing this?” Hector smiled.

“I really am.” They were both silent for a moment. “I should probably get going, don’t want to run out of daylight.”

“Hector?” Uther kicked at the stones beneath his feet and looked up at his brother.

“Yeah?”

“Good luck.” Hector’s smile was warm as he picked up the reigns.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry, this is good for us. This can finally be the beginning of peace in Camelot. We’ll be okay. Try not to burn the castle down while I’m gone.” He grinned and Uther waved at him as he took off towards the woods. “I’ll be back in a couple of days!” Hector called, already becoming a dot in the distance.

Uther sighed and leant against the pillar at the bottom of the steps. He’d be fine, he knew what he was doing. If anyone could talk a mass murderer into a truce, it would be Hector. He’d be fine.

* * *

A few minutes passed while Uther silently watched the sun begin to set and tried not to think about what Hector was doing. He was picking at a thread on his shirt when he heard the castle doors crash open and a borderline hysterical Vivienne came running down the steps.

“Vivienne?” She tripped down the last step and grabbed his arms, forcing him to look at her. She had tears running down her face and looked around the courtyard frantically, like she was searching for someone.

“Where is he, where’s Hector? You can’t let him leave!” Her eyes were wild. Uther looked up to see Gorlois making his way down the steps towards them. “You need to make him stay, he can’t go, he can’t!” She was sobbing and her whole body shook. Uther looked to Gorlois to see if he knew what was going on but his friend shook his head, looking just as confused as Uther.

“Vivienne,” he started slowly “He’s already gone.” She froze.

“What?”

“He left ten minutes ago.” Vivienne let go of Uther as her hands began to tremble.

“No. No, he’s not.. no, he can’t go, he can’t, he can’t!” She was breathing so fast that she could barely stay still and Uther put a hand on her arm to steady her. “He can’t go, he can’t go, he..” Her words became unintelligible as she buried her face in Uther’s chest and sobbed. He put his arms around her cautiously, as worried as he was confused. This kind of thing had happened before but he couldn’t remember Vivienne ever being so intensely distraught. She was still crying as the sun began to set.

* * *

Gorlois was awake uncharacteristically early the next morning. He usually had to be dragged out of bed minutes before training began and was mildly horrified to wake up to the sunrise. He groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, he rolled the wrong way and fell out of bed, smacking his face against the wall as he slipped.

“Ow. Bitch.” Always a good start to the day.

“The wall is a bitch?” Gorlois nearly jumped out of skin as Sir Felix leant against the doorway with an amused smile. “Because from where I’m standing it looks a lot like you attacked an innocent wall with your face.” It was too early for this.

“Felix? Why are you- Hello. Hello, why are you here, please? Why?” He was still sprawled on the floor and the daylight was hurting his eyes. _Wait, the daylight?_

“Because training starts in two minutes and I know you. Up you get.” Felix picked up a shirt and threw it at an extremely disgruntled Gorlois.

“But.. the sunrise… my extra nap time..” His eyes narrowed. “ _Nimueh._ ” Felix was doing his best not to laugh.

“It would appear so, yes.” He should have been expecting this. She’d been too nice for the last few days. That always meant she was up to something. That said, a fake sunrise was pretty impressive, even if it was used for evil.

“Wait, why are you not already at the training ground? You’ll be late.” Felix gave a half-smile.

“Ah, so I’m late. At least it won’t be just you. Come on, hurry up, we can walk down together.” Gorlois tripped over twice as he threw on some clothes from the floor and dashed out of the room.

He smiled at Vivienne’s father as they passed him on the staircase. Naturally, he was greeted with a scowl.

“I heard about your friend yesterday, about what happened.” Gorlois tensed on reflex but relaxed quickly. Usually, when people brought up Vivienne’s.. whatever they were, they were looking to gossip but this was Felix, he’d never say a bad word about Vivienne. He’d never say a bad word about anyone. “Is she alright?” Gorlois tried not to smile. Of course that’s what he’d ask.

“She’s ok, I think. She calmed down after a while and went to find Nimueh, so while she’s alright, the rest of us probably won’t be for long.” Felix threw back his head and laughed. The sun came through the window and lit up his face in a way that made Gorlois trip over for a third time.

“Are you good?” _No, not with you smiling at me like that._

“Yeah, just missed a step, all fine.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the first knight of Camelot.”

“Hey, walking down steps is not a necessary qualification for knighthood, I’d-”

“AND ELEVEN.. TEN!” Sir Oswin shouted from the training ground, looking at the sundial and watching the shadow creep towards the hour. Gorlois squinted in confusion.

“What is this? Has he finally lost it?”

“No, he’s..”

“NINE! EIGHT!” Felix’s eyes widened and he shoved Gorlois forwards.

“That’s how long we’ve got until we’re late! Come one!” He dragged Gorlois and sprinted down the field to the rest of the knights.

“You know there are literally no consequences if we’re late, right?”

“Less talking, more running!” Gorlois grumbled to himself as Sir Oswin continued.

“SEVEN… SIX.. FIVE.. FOUR!” He didn’t care about being on time but Oswin was a smug bastard and Gorlois refused give him the satisfaction. He and Felix flew down the field towards Oswin as he finished his countdown. “Three, two and on-OOF!” Gorlois crashed into him as he got to one, sending them both face-first into the ground. Felix had managed to stop and stay on his feet and looked down at Gorlois with a chuckle.

“Not your day today, is it?”

“I can hardly say it’s mine either,” groaned Sir Oswin, as he clambered up from the ground “I was hoping I could at least pick up my sword before you knocked me over.” Somebody stuck out their hand to help Gorlois up from the ground and he took it before seeing who it belonged to.

“Uther?” He asked, puzzled. Uther didn’t come to training. Well, not anymore. “What are you doing here? You haven’t come to training in three years, not since I beat you and you retreated in disgrace.” Uther huffed.

“I didn’t retreat in disgrace, I decided to spend more time on council matters, _thank you_. And you didn’t beat me.” Gorlois laughed in his face and watched some of the newer knights freeze in the background, shocked that he would laugh at a royal.

“I absolutely beat you, I disarmed you and knocked you over!”

“ _Yeah,_ then I got back up and kicked you, taking my sword back in the process!”

“No, I definitely beat you because we haven’t talked about it since! Lionel, you were there, you remember, tell him who won!” Sir Lionel gave a pained sigh.

“I believe it was, in fact, Nimueh who won. She turned up halfway through and smacked you both into the dirt. That’s why you haven’t spoken about it.” Yeah, that tracked. They both shuffled and mumbled awkwardly until Sir Leander sighed and picked up two swords, throwing one to Uther and one to Gorlois. Gorlois grinned.

“Rematch?”

“Rematch.” The knights cleared the field and stood by the sword rack. Most looked intrigued, Sir Oswin seemed particularly excited to see who won. Gorlois looked at Felix, who gave him a small thumbs up and sat back to watch.

Uther spun his sword. “Ready?”

“What, do we have to count down or something?” Uther lunged forward to kebab him. Guess that was a no on the countdown. Gorlois stepped back and moved around him, trying to get behind him so he could disarm him. Uther was annoyingly fast and spun round to block him and knock him over. Gorlois wasn’t down for long before he sprang back up and raised his sword. They danced around each other for a few minutes, slashing and diving until they eventually locked swords. Metal ground against metal and Uther smiled.

“You can always give up now, save your dignity.” Gorlois scoffed.

“Oh please, like either of us have any dignity.” Gorlois was just about to swing at Uther’s head when they heard a voice behind them.

“We’re doing this again?” Ah, fuck. Uther seemed to share the sentiment as they were both thrown into the air and flew ten feet back. They crashed to the ground and Gorlois rolled over to see Nimueh laughing and her eyes glowing gold. “It’s not really a rematch without me, is it?” Oh, she was going to _annihilate_ them. His pride wasn’t worth this. Gorlois looked over at Uther and raised his eyebrows in question. Uther nodded back and he had to hope Uther’s nod meant ‘ _yes, I am also terrified, let’s call this off before we get our asses handed to us’_.

Gorlois scrambled to his feet in immediate surrender and held up his hands. “We surrender! You wouldn’t hurt a man who surrenders, would you?” Nimueh stopped to think about it.

“I might. But not on this occasion. As long as you say I win.”

“You win!” Nimueh smiled broadly.

“Both of you, please.” Uther groaned as he stood up.

“Fine, you win.”

“Excellent! I only came here to find Sir Philip but reminding the two of you that I can destroy you if I want to is always a fun added bonus.”

“Why were you trying to find me?” Sir Philip asked. Nimueh cracked her wrists absentmindedly.

“Your father’s trying to find you, no idea why. I was with Vivienne in the armoury trying to find an axe for..” she trailed off and Gorlois paled. “It doesn’t matter what for. Anyway, he came in looking for you and Vivienne sent me to come find you. She was going to but I came because she probably shouldn’t be running anywhere now she’s pre.. bably hurt her foot. Probably. Prebably. That’s a normal way to talk. No further questions. You,” she pointed at Philip “Let’s go.” She dashed off toward the armoury leaving the knights bewildered and concerned. Uther frowned.

“When did Vivienne hurt her foot?” Gorlois sighed.

“I don’t think.. never mind.” He raised his voice to get the attention of the knights. “Okay, drills! Last one to the end of the field has to run laps!”

* * *

Uther wished he’d never gone to training. He had thought it would take his mind off of Hector’s mission and Vivienne’s outburst but all it did was give him sore arms as well as worries. He’d stayed and run drills with the knights all day before going to a council meeting in the evening and now he was ready to pass out. He pulled his blanket up to his face and closed his eyes. He managed to enjoy a full sixteen minutes of peace before he heard the door open and felt somebody plonk themself down on the end of his bed.

“You ever think about fish? Do you think they can see or does the water make their vision all blurry? Like they only see shapes and can’t tell the difference between their friend and a rock?” Uther rubbed his eye with the base of his palm and saw Nimueh flopped over his bed.

“Please get out of my bedroom.”

“Oh good, you’re awake!”

“Fucking am now.” Uther grumbled as he sat up and the door creaked open again. Gorlois poked his head into the room.

“Hey, I heard voices, why wasn’t I invited?” He hesitated and frowned as he saw Nimueh sitting on Uther’s bed. He paused. “Were you..?” Nimueh scrunched her nose in disgust.

“I would rather eat my own foot!”

“Absolutely not!”

“Ugly!”

“I just want to sleep, why are you both here?” Nimueh sighed and made herself comfortable. On his bed. Which he was trying to sleep in.

“Gorlois is here because he’s nosy, I’m here because I was proving to Vivienne that you were awake so it was ok to talk to you.” He glared at her.

“I wasn’t awake!”

“You are now! You’ve got to stop living in the past,” she looked at him with mock sincerity and took his hand “it’s gone.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, it’s a good thing Gorlois is so nosy because I was going to go get him next.”

“Why did you want to know if we were awake?” Gorlois asked.

“There’s a bit of a situation.. I should probably let Vivienne explain. Hold on, I’ll go and get her.” Nimueh vanished. Uther yawned and looked at Gorlois, who had sat down on the floor.

“You know you could just sit in the chair?” Gorlois stared at him like he was an idiot.

“Floor is better. You have any idea what this is about?” Uther shook his head.

“Not a clue. Maybe it’s- sorry, is that whole bag full of raisins?” Gorlois looked up from shotgunning raisins and slapped his satchel.

“Perhaps.”

* * *

Nimueh and Vivienne had been doing their best all day to think of a way out of her impending wedding. Their potential plans so far had included: a trip down the stairs for Duke Brannen; a fake letter of slander about Vivienne’s father that they were going to say Brannen had written; pretending to kidnap Vivienne; dressing somebody else as Vivienne and sending them away with Duke Brannen; and Nimueh’s suggestion of just taking an axe to everyone involved, hence the two of them creeping around in the armoury earlier. Their working idea was to just abandon civilisation and live in the woods together with the baby and maybe invite Uther and Gorlois over for dinner sometimes, which was a nice idea but served as more of a distraction from the bleak reality than an actual plan.

Without any real ideas, Nimueh had suggested telling Uther and Gorlois to see if they could help. She understood Vivienne’s desire to involve as few people as possible but they were running out of time and she trusted both Uther and Gorlois with her life. Sure, there was a chance Uther might be a little judgemental because he was raised so traditionally, but she was fully prepared to throw him out of a window, so it was fine. It’s not regicide, _actually,_ he’s only the crown prince.

Vivienne had agreed that it was a good idea but said to leave them until the morning, they were probably asleep. Nimueh had pointed out that they didn’t really have until morning, the wedding was the next day, then she’d run out of the room to harass Uther and Gorlois.

She knocked on Vivienne’s door, a little out of breath, and made a mental note to check the high priestess’ library for any sort of teleporting spell.

“Viviennnnnnne! I was right, they were both still up.” Vivienne locked the door and sighed, pulling her jumper around her shoulders as she followed Nimueh up the stairs.

“You didn’t wake them up, did you?”

“I would never.”

“That means you did.” Nimueh grinned.

“Would I lie to you?”

“Yes, absolutely.” Vivienne hesitated as they approached Uther’s room. “Nimueh?”

“Yeah?”

“You know I trust Uther and Gorlois but are you sure they’ll be able to help?” Nimueh looked at her and stopped.

“Vivienne, you can never tell either of them I said this, but they’re both pretty smart. Gorlois is the first knight and an incredible military strategist and Uther is the prince of Camelot. I’m sure they’ll have some ideas.” She pushed the door open to see the incredible military strategist and the prince of Camelot balancing raisins on their noses in a pile while attempting to sabotage each other by flinging spare raisins. Of course.

* * *

Uther looked up, embarrassed, and the raisins tumbled down his face.

“Sorry, we were, um,” He looked to Gorlois to fill in the blanks but Gorlois just shrugged and went back to inhaling the remaining raisins.

“There any of those left?” Nimueh asked. Gorlois gleefully reached into his satchel and flung a handful at her, like you would when feeding bread to the ducks. She bowed in thanks. “Much obliged. So,” She sat herself back down at the end of Uther’s bed and he spluttered feebly “Vivienne, the floor is yours.” Vivienne took it literally and sat down on the floor next to Gorlois before speaking.

“Yes.. right.” She stared at her feet and sighed. Uther frowned.

“Is everything alright?” Gorlois finished his raisins and looked up, worried.

“Yes. Well, no. No.” Her hands started shaking and she took a deep breath to calm herself. “I’m pregnant.” Uther blinked rapidly.

“Congratulations?”

“I will hurt you.”

“Not congratulations, got it.”

“That’s not all of it,” Vivienne carried on “My father found out.” Gorlois gritted his teeth in a way Uther probably would have laughed at in any other situation. “And he’s making me marry Duke Brannen. Tomorrow.” Oh, bad, that was bad. Uther had known Brannen for years and had had never known him to be anything but aggressive, slimy and thoroughly unpleasant. “Nimueh and I have been trying to come up with a way out of it but we’ve got nothing so she suggested we ask you two.” Uther stared at Nimueh in disbelief.

“She did?” Nimueh threw a pillow at him.

“Shut up.” Gorlois had been quiet for a minute and cocked his head.

“How pregnant? How long, I mean.”

“Just over three months.” Vivienne responded.

“I don’t want to be mean but how the hell did you not work it out sooner?”

“I don’t know!” She raised her voice defensively “I assumed the weight I was gaining was from all the stolen jam tarts Nimueh was force-feeding me after telling me I looked like a sickly orphan!” Three pairs of eyes fell on Nimueh, who folded her arms.

“I will not apologise for making you look after yourself.” Gorlois raised his eyebrows.

“It was _a lot_ of jam tarts.”

“You don’t get to talk, raisin boy! She looked really hungry! This is beside the point, do either of you have any ideas?” Uther was still processing and had registered up to about Duke Brannen. Who Vivienne was apparently marrying tomorrow. Yikes.

“You could pretend to kidnap Vivienne? Buy some time?” He suggested. Nimueh gasped gleefully.

“That’s what I said! But no, we thought about it and we don’t have anywhere to hide and even if we did, they’d just ask me to do a locator spell.” Uther’s face fell.

“Oh. Not that then.” He paused. “This might sound a bit extreme but have you thought about just nudging him down the stairs? Tragic accident?” Vivienne looked between Uther and Nimueh a couple of times before shaking her head.

“It’s worrying how similar you two are.” They both made noises of protest, which she ignored. “But no, we’ve also thought about that and it wouldn’t work. Murder is wrong. Also the staircase isn’t steep enough.”

Uther chewed on his lip as he tried to think. _Tell Vivienne’s father that the Duke was already married? Say Vivienne was already married? Hold on._

“What if you told your father you were already married?” Vivienne considered it but shook her head.

“He wouldn’t believe me. He’d want evidence, a marriage certificate. Oh, and I’d probably need a fake husband. He would know I was lying.” Gorlois looked deep in thought, like he was piecing something together.

“What if you weren’t lying?”

“What?” Nimueh asked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what if you actually marry somebody else?” Vivienne narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t..”

“That would definitely get you away from Brannen, but is marrying a stranger really a good plan?” Uther asked and Nimueh shrugged.

“I guess anyone is better than Brannen.” Vivienne nodded in agreement but still wasn’t fully on board. 

“I couldn’t ask anyone to do that, it’s not fair. Who would even agree to that?”

“Me.” The room went silent as the three of them stared at Gorlois.

“Sorry?” Vivienne asked in disbelief.

“You could marry me. I’m not a stranger, I’m not married, babies love me and I’m a knight so your father wouldn’t see it as a status loss or anything.” Uther hesitated. He wasn’t really sure how to ask this.

“Gorlois, I know I’ve never actually just upfront asked you.. but you’re in love with Sir Felix, right?” Gorlois leant back and sighed.

“Yeah, a bit.” Vivienne frowned.

“Wait, isn’t he married?”

“He and his wife, Lady Aelia, they have an arrangement. They aren’t in love but they were childhood friends and were both set to marry strangers, as orchestrated by their parents, so they married each other instead, before they could be sent away. Now, they agree that Lady Aelia stays at their home in Gedref with her partner, Elizabeth, and Felix comes here to train.” _With me_ , he didn’t say. “So, yes, but not really.”

Uther was still hesitant.

“Are you sure the two of you would even be able to sell this, make people believe you?”

“Yeah, totally, watch.” Gorlois took a breath and straightened himself up before dramatically flicking his hair back. “Nice to meet you, sir, my name is Straight Gorlois and this is my wife, Vivienne. I enjoy bread, ladies and walking slowly. How do you do?” He tapped at his other hand, the same way Uther was currently doing. Then he rolled his left shoulder back. The exact same way Uther had just done.

“Hold on, are you just pretending to be me?” Uther asked incredulously and raised his arm to check.

“No.” Gorlois lied, copying Uther and raising his arm.

“This is- I’m- I don’t walk slowly!” He was met with a telling silence. He looked to Vivienne to back him up but she just shrugged and he sat back, defeated. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s like walking around with a little old lady.” Nimueh supplied helpfully.

“ _Huh._ We’re definitely coming back to this later but I think maybe the issue at hand is a bit more pressing. Are you two really doing this?”

Gorlois looked at Vivienne and grinned.

“What do you say, wanna get married?” This was the most raisins Uther had ever seen involved in a proposal. Also, what the fuck. This whole exchange felt like some sort of weird, raisin-induced fever dream.

“I..” Vivienne still seemed to be in shock. “Are you sure? I can’t ask you to do this, it’s not fair, it wouldn’t-“

“Vivienne,” Gorlois reassured “I am absolutely sure. You’re my best friend-” Uther made a small noise of outrage and Gorlois corrected himself “ _One_ of my best friends, and I love you. I know you’d do the same for me. And like I said, babies love me.” Uther wanted to protest and say that babies liked everyone, but it was true, they did seem to like Gorlois more than most. “I’ve got a full arsenal of dad jokes ready to go, this kid is going to _weep_. We’ll be ok.” He smiled “We’re going to have to find something else to wear for a wedding, though. What about hats? Hats are fancy.”

“I don’t think I have a hat.” Vivienne murmured.

“Hang on,” Nimueh clicked her fingers together and scrunched her face up like she always did when she was constructing a spell. She closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her. “ _Damhsa draoi._ ” The air glittered and smoke plumed before clearing to reveal a pile of various fabrics and sequins. Uther raised his eyebrows questioningly at her. “There’s no hat spell. The closest I could get was the ingredients.”

“Ingredients?”

“Yeah, for the hats. The material and the glue and stuff. The ingredients.” Uther pinched the bridge of his nose. Nimueh was one of the most powerful people alive. Hat ingredients. Ok.

“So…” Gorlois’ joints cracked as he got down on one knee and offered a raisin in place of a ring. Uther tried not to sigh too hard. “Vivienne Mildred Moros, will you marry me?” Vivienne smiled and took the raisin.

“I would love to.”

Uther and Nimueh were both too distracted by this new piece of information to hear Vivienne accept.

“Mildred?!” Uther’s voice was strangled and Nimueh looked close to tears. “I mean, um, congratulations, good for you two. How come Gorlois knew your middle name was Mildred and I didn’t? It’s not important. Happy engagement. Because that’s less weird. Alright.” He was spiralling. He tried to compose himself and Nimueh began to shake next to him. Vivienne rolled her eyes.

“Gorlois knows because he heard my father say it eight years ago. I was hoping he’d forgotten.” Gorlois grinned.

“Never.”

Uther thought Nimueh was going to explode, she was trying so hard not to laugh.

“Mildred. Vivienne Mildred.”

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Nimueh took a deep breath and wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes while Uther remembered the actual problem at hand.

“Wait, Vivienne, if you have to marry Duke Brannen tomorrow, the two of you only have, what, twelve hours?” She stopped to think about it.

“We can find Geoffrey in the library first thing in the morning, get there before my father even wakes up.” Nimueh cocked her head in confusion and Vivienne explained “Geoffrey of Monmouth. You’ve seen him around the library, he’s a friend of Gaius. He’s in charge of the castle records and most official ceremonies, including weddings. If we want to do this, he’s our best bet.” Gorlois nodded.

“Solid plan, solid plan, can I make one adjustment?” Oh, _of course._ Uther should have known better. Gorlois le Fay and the sunrise were old foes. He couldn’t recall a single instance in the sixteen years he’d known Gorlois when the man had been awake at first light. “First bell instead? Maybe just dodge your father until then?” Vivienne smiled in agreement and Nimueh clapped her hands together.

“Right then! How the fuck does one go about making a hat?”

* * *

Uther was woken up, once again, by Nimueh. At least it was a civilised hour this time.

“Wake up, bitch, we’ve got a wedding to go to.” Gentle as always. She leant against the doorframe and threw a coin up and down while she waited for him.

“Are Vivienne and Gorlois already up?” He asked as he struggled with his jacket. The damn thing had too many buttons.

“Yeah, hi.” Vivienne’s voice came from outside his room. He finished tying his shoelaces and closed the door behind him.

Vivienne was standing in the corridor, wearing something on her head that nobody would ever describe as a hat. Luckily, somebody had labelled it “HAT” with glitter and glue. Uther paused. Actually, that may have been him. The four of them had all got a bit carried away last night with their hat-making and the result really was quite the sensory attack. He had never known an inanimate object to be so aggressively loud and confusing before, but this hat managed it effortlessly.

“Where’s Gorlois?”

“Behind you.” Gorlois grinned, clearly pleased that Uther hadn’t noticed him sneaking up the stairs. He was wearing an equally ridiculous hat that hurt Uther’s brain.

“I’m beginning to think the hats were a mistake.” Gorlois pouted and pulled the edges of the hat down against his face.

“What do you mean? I love them!” He beamed as he flicked a sequin out of his eye. Vivienne nodded enthusiastically, causing a cloud of glitter to fall off her hat. Uther shook his head and sighed.

“To the library?” 

“To the library.”

* * *

They made it down to the library to find Geoffrey of Monmouth but the doors were still locked.

“Now what?” Uther asked. Gorlois stopped to think.

“We wait and ambush him?”

“That works.”

Each of them found a hiding place to wait. Some with more skill than others: Vivienne was tucked behind a pillar, Gorlois climbed up and balanced on a ceiling beam, Nimueh used magic to blend into the wall like a chameleon and Uther shuffled behind a nearby plant. Stealthy.

Geoffrey rounded the corner, peacefully finishing off a jam tart when Nimueh revealed herself. He panicked and jumped back, throwing his hands in the air in alarm.

“Ah! Demon!” He slowed down and narrowed his eyes at her. “No. Not a demon, but close enough. I know who you are, you’re that terrifying magic girl that’s always covered in dirt.” Nimueh bowed deeply.

“Yes, that would be me.”

“What do you want from me, demon?” She scowled.

“Rude.” _Shit, time to intervene._

“Geoffrey,” Uther stepped out from behind the plant. “We were hoping you could help us with something.”

“Prince Uther! It’s.. what do you mean we?” Geoffrey asked, going pale. Gorlois dropped from the beam and Vivienne came into view. “Oh gods, they’re all here.” He mumbled and crossed himself, which Uther felt was a little unnecessary. “How may I help you?” He asked as he unlocked the library and motioned for the four of them to enter.

They sat down in front of Geoffrey’s writing desk and Gorlois answered him, knowing he would probably have the most luck.

“Geoffrey, would I be correct in thinking that you are ordained to officiate weddings?”

“You would be.” He eyed them suspiciously. “My lord, if I may, what is that on your head?” Gorlois patted his hat.

“Special hat. For the occasion.”

“Occasion?” Gorlois smiled and Geoffrey relaxed a little. Uther tried hard not to roll his eyes. Everyone was like this with Gorlois, he didn’t know what it was, something about him just made people like him.

“Would you be willing to perform a wedding between the Lady Vivienne and myself?” Geoffrey looked a little startled but smiled comfortably and opened a notebook.

“It would be my honour. When were you thinking?” He asked, ready to write down a date.

“This morning?”

“This morning? So soon?” Gorlois nodded and Geoffrey looked to Vivienne, who had forgotten how to act like a person and did jazz hands at him.

“It’s a shotgun wedding!” She announced and Geoffrey frowned.

“What’s a shotgun?” Vivienne mimed something with her hands and made a “P-choo” sound, leaving nobody any wiser. She shook her head.

“Don’t worry. I don’t think I’m using that right anyway.” Geoffrey raised his eyebrows and sat back in his chair.

“I suppose it is a bit unorthodox, but yes, I could wed the two of you this morning. Did you mean now?” Vivienne nodded. “Do you have rings?” Gorlois opened his mouth to say no but Nimueh got there first.

“Give me a second.” She closed her eyes and put one hand over the other. “ _Sealadach._ ” She took away one of her hands to reveal two silver rings, each engraved with an initial and tiny drawings of stars. She handed them to Geoffrey, who inspected them with wonder.

“Incredible craftsmanship.. your magic?” Nimueh nodded as he admired the rings.

“Not so much of a demon now, huh?” Geoffrey looked up in surprise.

“No, no, that was never about your magic, I’ve always been fascinated by the stuff, that was about your countless arson charges.” Nimueh pulled a face and stepped back. Uther had to agree with him, it was becoming a habit. “A wedding, then!” Geoffrey closed his notebook over with a thud. “Shall we adjourn to the great hall?”

“Oh, no, here is fine.” Gorlois reassured.

“Very well.” He reached for an old book and began to read from it. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..”

* * *

Gorlois felt like they’d pulled off some sort of heist as they left the library. Vivienne grinned at him and twisted the ring on her finger.

“We got married.” He laughed.

“We did.”

“Does that mean we should take the hats off?” Gorlois was going to respond but Uther answered before he had the chance to.

“Please.” He sounded so exasperated that Gorlois handed him the hat, which he held out at arm’s length like it was going to bite him. Mind you, there was a chance it would, considering Nimueh, her magic and her relentless amusement drawn from scaring Uther.

Uther carried the hat with him, glaring at it as the four of them walked down towards the training ground.

“Now what?” Nimueh asked.

“Now,” Gorlois replied “We begin phase three.” Uther frowned.

“There were phases?” Gorlois scoffed. Fool.

“A good plan is always split into phases, everyone knows that. You’re the fucking prince! You don’t phase your plans?” Uther shuffled shamefully. As he should. No phases to his plans, what a ridiculous man. “Anyway, phase three: Tell Vivienne’s father.” Vivienne gritted her teeth and he couldn’t say he blamed her. Vivienne’s father was not a particularly laid-back man and was unlikely to take this well. Nobody liked having their plans foiled, let alone a man Gorlois had once seen berate a candle and throw it from the rooftop for the crime of dripping hot wax onto his hand.

He was just going to explain the plan when a shout sounded from the courtyard, followed by the sound of people running down to investigate and voices yelling for Gaius.

Gorlois frowned and his friends looked equally concerned. He wondered what it was; the courtyard was usually pretty empty, save for the guards and anybody leaving or arriving at the castle. Vivienne inhaled sharply as she put two and two together. Before any of them had a chance to react, Sir Lionel came speeding down the hall towards them.

“Prince Uther, you must come quickly, it’s the king!” Gorlois watched the blood drain from Uther’s face as he ran after Sir Lionel. He was quick behind his friend as they flew down the steps to see a small crowd of knights huddled around something. Or someone.

Gorlois was at Uther’s side as he broke through the group of knights to see Hector, leaning against Sir Felix.

“Brother.” He choked out with a strained laugh.

“Hector, what happened?” Uther asked, frantic. Gaius appeared behind them as Hector answered.

“Well.” The wind blew his cape back to reveal the king holding his stomach together, hands covered in blood. “Things didn’t quite go to plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So!! time for Hector to eat shit!!  
> Sorry for such a long chapter i didn't mean to it just ended up really long so i went with it but well done for making it to the end!!  
> Translations for Nimueh's spells (I've just been translating random shit to irish gaelic because tragically i don't know any spells)  
> Damhsa draoi = wizard dance  
> Sealadach = temporary  
> Aaand accuracy notes because i'm fairly certain i've fucked some of that up:  
> \- are raisins historically accurate? unlikely. but then again, dragons.  
> \- i know you can't measure seconds with a sundial. i dont know how sundials work. ive done extensive research. i do not understand  
> Thank you so much for reading i hope you liked it :D


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